Ho, Aug. 29, GNA - At least 312 poultry farmers the world over were reported to have contracted Avian Influenza, the deadly bird flu since it was first detected, Dr J.A. Awuni, a Veterinary Officer has said on Wednesday.

He said 60 per cent of the infected farmers have died and the rest could not be cured completely because they did not adhere to bio-security measures.

Dr Awuni made the disclosure at a one-day workshop for poultry farmers in the Volta region at Ho.

The workshop was organized by the National Poultry Development Board on the theme: "Farm Bio-security in the prevention and control of the highly pathogenic avian influenza: The farmer's perspective". He said the disease was very aggressive and contagious and could survive up to four days at 22 degrees Celsius, 35 days at four degrees Celsius in poultry manure, 30 days at zero degree Celsius in water and 23 days in carcasses at room temperature.

Dr Awuni said there was no potent vaccine currently available for the disease and advised poultry farmers to put measures in place to prevent it from getting into their farms.

He said some of the recommended measures were fencing of farms, separation of poultry and premises from sources of infection, restricting the movement of people and vehicles in and out of susceptible areas and not accepting back to the farm live poultry taken out for sale.

Mr Keneth Quartey, Managing Director of Sydals Farms Limited, advised farmers to step up surveillance and report promptly any detection of the disease to prevent its spread. He told them that government do not pay for birds that died of the disease but rather those destroyed by the authorities and advised the farmers not to destroy the affected birds themselves.

Mr Quartey said the authorities could decide to destroy healthy birds that were within what he called the "kill zone".